Improvement in dies for trimming the points of horseshoe-nails



J. H. ZOTTMAN. 'DIES mnT-mmum THE rpxm's 0F HoRsEsHon-mus; 132559;?"Patented. Sept. 19, 1876.

0L 0' FORM N. PETERS, PHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON, n C,

UNITED STATES I OFFICE.

JOHN H. ZOTTMAN, OF VER-GENNES, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF OF HISRIGHT TO WILLIAM S. HOPKINS, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN DIES FOR TRIMMING THE POINTS OF HORSESHOE-NAILS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 182,509, datedSeptember 19, 1876 application filed June 20. 1874.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, JOHN H. ZOTTMAN, of Vergennes, in the county ofAddison and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Dies for Trimming or Shearing Horseshoe-Nails; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view ofmy invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation. Fig. 3 is an end elevation andFig. 4 is a perspective view, showing the old form of die.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawings denote thesame parts.

The stationary cutting-dies ordinarily employed for trimming or pointinghorseshoenails, after they have been cut from the blanks, haveheretofore been provided with an opening or channel wedge-shaped orbeveled in the direction both of its length and breadth, for the purposeof pointing the nail when acted on by the movable plunger, and at thesame time permitting the clearance of the nail by the divergence of theside faces of the channel from the cutting-edge. The ends of the die,and the outer edges of the channel, in the construction described, areat right angles to the face of the die.

The result of this divergence of the side faces of the channel is that,after the face has been ground several times for the purpose ofsharpening the die, the channel becomes too large on the cutting-face ofthe die, and does not fit the punch or male die, or answer the purposefor which it was intended; hence, such dies become inoperative afterrepeated sharpenings.

To obviate this defect is the object of my invention, which consists inbeveling the side faces of the channel in the stationary die in thedirection of its length only, the outer edges of the channel beingparallel to each other, and the ends of the die being inclined to theface, by which construction the cutting part or face of the die retainsthe proper shape for pointing or trimming the nails, after beingrepeatedly ground, and the inclined position of the outer end of thedie, relative to the face, will allow clearance to the nail after beingpointed or trimmed.

In the accompanying drawings, A and B represent two pieces of steeldoweled together to form the stationary die, one end of which isprovided with an opening or channel, O, in longitudinal section of theform of a pointed or finished horseshoe-nail, the side faces of thechannel 0 being beveled or inclined from the line a, where theyintersect, to the outer end of the die.

The angle which the side faces of the channel or opening in the femaledie make with each other may be varied at pleasure. The outer edges b bof the channel are parallel to each other their entire lengths; and,consequently, the longitudinal sections of the channel are alikewherever made in the die, so that the die may be repeatedly sharpened,and its cutting-face will still retain precisely the original form, thusobviating the defect in the ordinary die alluded to above and shown inFig. at.

In order to clear the nail from the female die, when acted on by themale die 1?, which operates perpendicularly to the cutting-face of thestationary die, the outer face E of the die is inclined, or forms anacute angle with the face of the female die, and the line ofintersection a of the side face of the channel makes the same angle withthe face of the female die, so that the same distance is preservedbetween the intersection of the side faces of the opening in the die andits end, after repeatedly grinding the die.

The inclination of the end of the die to its cutting-face allows theclearance of the nail as it is forced into the female die by the actionof the male die or plunger 1?.

After grinding the face of the female die it will be necessary to adjustthe latter somewhat to accommodate it to the action of the plungermoving perpendicularly to its cutting-face.

The male die P is beveled on both its side faces to adapt it to thechannel in the female die, in which it is made to operate.

I claim as my invention-- The die for pointing horseshoe-nails, providedwith an opening, having beveled side faces intersecting each other, theouter edges of the opening being parallel to each other, and the outerend of the die being inclined to the cutting-face, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses: JOHN H. ZOTTMAN.

JOSEPH LA DUKE, WILLIAM S. HOPKINS.

